IMF asks CBN to extend deadline for naira swap

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday called on Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the February 10 deadline for cash swap.

The call was made after the Supreme Court restrained the Federal Government and Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) from enforcing the deadline.

In a statement released in Abuja by Laraba Bonet, IMF hinged its plea on the hardship Nigerians were going through.

It said: “in light of hardships caused by disruptions to trade and payments due to the shortage of new bank notes available to the public, in spite of measures introduced by the CBN to mitigate the challenges in the banknote swap process, the IMF encourages the CBN to consider extending the deadline should problems persist in the next few days leading up to the February 10, 2023 deadline”.

The IMF is the first international financial organisation to openly call for extension of the deadline for the deposit of old Naira notes.